90 Days to Purdue Football: Bruce Gaston

Earlier this week, we looked at Purdue's star at defensive tackle, Kawann Short. Today, we look at his partner in crime, Bruce Gaston. We are lucky to have 600 pounds of bull-dozing monsters on our d-line with the two of them, and Gaston showed that he is more than capable of holding his own in the Big Ten after these past two seasons. The two of them are kind of like Mario and Luigi...only instead of goofy plumbers who beat the snot out of Koopas and Gumbas, they are enormous defenders who beat the snot out of offensive linemen, quarterbacks, and any running back that tries to run straight up the middle.

Bruce Gaston - Jr.

Hometown: Chicago, IL (St. Rita HS)

Defensive Tackle

6'2", 303 pounds

2012 Projection: Starter at defensive tackle

Gaston had a tremendous year as a true freshmen in 2010; recording 26 total tackles, and a sack as he appeared in all 12 games, starting in 10 of them. Last year, Gaston picked up right where he left off: recording 30 total tackles, 3 sacks, recovered a fumble, and deflected 2 passes. Gaston is an athlete and a play-maker; not to mention he's as strong as an ox. Although Short is more athletic and finesse, Gaston is a straight up the middle "you aren't going to stop me" pass rusher. If he can put together another solid season where he has 30-38 total tackles, 3-5 sacks, forces a fumble here and there, then the Boilermaker defense is going to look pretty damn good and running backs are going to have few holes to get through.

Gaston is an extremely competitive athlete, who is devoted to making Purdue Football better in anyway that he can. He came in as a true freshmen and showed that he will work his tail-end off for this team, and you cannot have enough players like that in any sport. I'm glad that we have a player like Bruce Gaston who will be one of the upperclassmen on this Boilermaker squad. The future is bright for Gaston.

Follow Bruce Gaston on Twitter:@Bnasty90